Hanoi (VNA) – Minister ofForeign Affairs Bui Thanh Son and Minister of Agriculture and Rural DevelopmentLe Minh Hoan on August 17 signed an action plan for implementing economicdiplomacy to help promote agricultural development in the 2023 - 2026 period.

Applauding the agriculture and ruraldevelopment sector’s achievements, Son said agriculture has established itselfas a true pillar of support in the national economy, an essential contributorto social security, and a leading strength of Vietnam’s internationalcooperation and diplomatic activities.

In 2022, agriculture, forestry andfisheries expanded 3.36% to substantially contribute the overall GDP growth of8.02%. Agro-forestry-fishery exports topped 53 billion USD, resulting in atrade surplus of over 8.5 billion USD or nearly 76% of the economy’s totaltrade surplus, statistics show.

Agriculture has played a crucial role in ensuring domestic food security,political stability, and social security, especially amid the food crisis thathas led to political and social instability in many countries, the ForeignMinister noted.

Thesector has also helped promote Vietnam’s stature and prestige in theinternational arena, he went on, adding that from an agriculturallyunderdeveloped country, Vietnam has become one of the world’s top producers andexporters of agro-forestry-fishery products and a role model on safeguarding food security .

At bilateral meetings and on thesidelines of multilateral conferences, foreign leaders have recognised and valued Vietnam’s experience in agricultural development as well as its important rolein global and regional food production and supply chains, Son said.

He highlighted the moves taken by theForeign Ministry and Vietnam’s overseas representative agencies to help expandmarkets for agro-forestry-fishery products, attract resources for agriculturaldevelopment, and assist the agricultural sector to integrate into the world.

Asthe global, regional and domestic situations are predicted to face complex andunpredictable developments in the time ahead, Minister Son stressed thecritical necessity for stepping up economic diplomacy to support the sector, thushelping facilitate the export of agro-forestry-fishery products and maintain economicgrowth.

Appreciating the diplomatic sector’s assistance,Minister Hoan expressed his hope that the diplomatic sector, especiallyoverseas representative agencies of Vietnam, will continue assisting the agriculturalsector to weather challenges and seize opportunities to bring Vietnamese farmproduce to more markets.

He also considered the overseasrepresentative agencies a trustworthy and effective information channel forthe agricultural sector to access advanced scientific and technological achievementsof global agriculture so as to undertake reforms, improve production capacity,and improve on quality.

Following the meeting, the two ministers signed an action plan forimplementing economic diplomacy to help with agricultural development for 2023 -2026./.